Cooperation of biological and mechanical signals in cardiac progenitor cell differentiation

Abstract

Three-dimensional cardiac tissue-specific scaffolds made of poly-lactic acid (PLA) have an ordered array of square pores reproducing anisotropic cardiac-like stiffness. The mechano-physical features of the scaffolds favor cardiomyocyte adhesion and survival and combined with biological signals released by neonatal cardiomyocytes can accelerate cardiac stem cell differentiation by emulating in vitro cardiac niche. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.